Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 220 Upon hearing of the foreign bandits, Chen Tang immediately woke up! [Seeking monthly votes]

Early in the morning, Da Tou Yang brought a lot of frozen food as offerings. After finishing this, Zhou Yi went to the kitchen, poured some frozen shrimp into a basin to thaw, and opened a box of ribbonfish, taking out three or four of them. He planned to make braised ribbonfish for everyone at noon.

He was busy when Granny Gongsun appeared, peeking in from the kitchen doorway:
"Master, are you going to cook something delicious for me?"

Zhou Yi turned his head and nodded, saying:

"I'm making braised ribbonfish and spicy hot pot for lunch. What else would you like to eat?"

Upon hearing that there were ribbonfish, Granny Gongsun asked:

"Could you change it to the crispy ribbonfish we had at the restaurant last time? The kind where you can eat the bones without having to spit them out. I really like it."

Zhou Yi checked the time and said:
"Then I'll have to get started early. I'll fry the ribbonfish first, then put it in the pressure cooker to braise it... What did the Nestorian Church do to offend you? They even summoned the Five Elements Protective Thunder, which deducted a lot of my merits."

Grandma Gongsun looked delighted:
"You actually know?"

The girl shouted outside:

“Brother Li Bai, that lightning is called the Five Elements Protective Divine Lightning. It sounds really powerful.”

Zhou Yi first started cooking the porridge, and then began cleaning the ribbonfish.

Remove the head, tail, and internal organs, cut off the dorsal and ventral fins, make cross-shaped cuts one centimeter apart, then cut into six- or seven-centimeter-long fish pieces, marinate with scallion and ginger water, and then deep-fry.

Granny Gongsun stood by and recounted the story of the lightning strike on the Nestorian Church, then began to learn how to prepare ribbonfish:

"It seems so simple. I'll take a box of ribbonfish with me when I leave and have the imperial chefs in the palace cook it... Is it okay if I don't have a pressure cooker?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"It's the same with a clay pot. Just simmer it over low heat for a longer time."

While he was busy, he inquired about the Kaiyuan World and learned that the girl and Li Bai had secretly saved up some money to repair the bridge, which surprised Zhou greatly.
Why don't you give it to your parents to improve their living conditions?

"We don't lack living expenses at home. Having too much money would actually cause problems. It's enough to maintain our basic needs."

Although Granny Gongsun was usually disrespectful and often tried to get close to the gods, she was very restrained when it came to her own family.

She doesn't want her family to become lazy, spoiled brats, nor does she want to suddenly become someone important and live a life of luxury.

In a place like Chang'an, maintaining a middle-class lifestyle is ideal. You need a house, a stable income, and enough surplus to raise your children.

Of course, what Gongsun Da Niang wanted was only the middle class in terms of living standards. If someone were to ride roughshod over her family, she would not hesitate to kill them or even exterminate their entire clan.

Li Longji and his five brothers had repeatedly warned those around them not to provoke anyone associated with Yiyuan Temple, otherwise they would not find peace even in death, as the Pomegranate Fairy could even relay messages to the underworld.

Yes, those who provoke the One Element Sect will not find liberation even in death; instead, they will fall into an even deeper abyss of suffering.

Meanwhile, in the world of Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty, Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou led their troops to the Zhanyin Ferry on the Yellow River, intending to cross the Yellow River from there and follow the Xiaoguan Road directly to Chang'an.

Upon arriving at the ferry, several veteran soldiers came to greet them. After learning their purpose, they advised Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou to detour through Jincheng and take the Longguan Road to Chang'an.
"Although Xiaoguan Road is closer, after crossing the Yellow River, there are a large number of foreign bandits running rampant. If you generals pass through here, you may encounter unforeseen circumstances. I still advise you to take Longguan Road. Although it is longer, it is safer enough."

The Xiaoguan Road enters the Guanzhong Plain at an angle, while the Longguan Road requires detouring to Jincheng first, and then turning due east from the Longyou area, with a difference of several hundred miles in distance.

Chen Tang was already anxious to return to Chang'an to report the case of the Prefect of Wuwei. Upon hearing that there were foreign bandits on the other side of the Yellow River, he immediately grinned:
"This is a favor delivered right to our doorstep. Losing it would be worse than missing out on a fifty-pound fish... Old Gan, wanna have a go?"

With the air of a head coach, Gan Yanshou raised his wrist, glanced at the time displayed on his tactical watch, and said to Chen Tang:

“We’ll cross the river slowly. You can go to the Immortal Master now. You can send the rest of the horses there. There might be more prisoners ahead. We need to clear out some inventory.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Tang agreed that it made sense. Traveling with the Qiang people's horses was too strenuous, and it would be better to deliver them to Hunyuan Palace as soon as possible.

He asked Gan Yanshou:
"What do you want to eat this time? I'll bring it back for you."

Old Gan isn't picky about food, and he waved his hand generously:

"Anything is fine. I'm a rough person. As long as I can fill my stomach, I don't ask for anything else."

Chen Tang dismounted, put away the large-capacity power bank that needed charging, stuffed it into his backpack, then gathered the Qiang horses together, connected them with reins, and then took a step to the side, appearing in the gate of Hunyuan Palace with his horses.

He drove the horse through Hunyuan Palace, abandoned it on the back mountain, and casually scattered a lot of high-protein feed into the trough:
"You little alien scum got off easy. Don't blame me for coming after you if you don't carry the Song Dynasty people to kill more aliens later."

Regardless of whether the Qiang horse could understand him, the guy chattered on for a while before arriving at Zhou Yi's courtyard, just in time for breakfast.

This morning we had tofu soup. Li Bai got up and ladled a small bowl of it for Chen Tang.

"General Zigong, are you planning to linger in Gansu for a long time?"

Chen Tang said excitedly:
"The entourage is now crossing the river. Once they cross the Yellow River, they will be only seven or eight hundred li away from Chang'an. Victory is in sight!" Although they had rested along the way, they spent most of their time galloping on horseback. When the horses got tired, they would switch horses and keep going. They were working overtime every day.

After rushing around for so many days, we've finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel.

After breakfast, Chen Tang plugged in his power bank and rushed off to take a shower. Zhou Yi sat in front of his computer and began looking up information about the bridge repair project.

In ancient times, bridges were generally made of wood or single-arch stone. The construction methods were also very primitive. For example, for stone bridges, most of the time, an arched mound of earth was sealed, and stone slabs were laid layer by layer on the mound. After that, the mound of earth was hollowed out, and then the river was diverted. That's how the bridge was built.

The famous Miedu Bridge from the Southern Song Dynasty was built in this way, and it is still in use today.

The Longshou Canal is relatively narrow, so a single-arch stone bridge is sufficient.

Comparatively speaking, the Book of Changes is more concerned with the bridges over the Wei River. Whether it is the East Wei Bridge or the West Wei Bridge, they seem to have left records of congestion in history.

The Dongwei Bridge, in particular, has a long-standing reputation for being congested.

The Dongwei Bridge connects the grain transport route of the Central Plains. Carts pass by constantly, day and night, and even court officials complain that the bridge is difficult to cross.

Zhou Yi believed that if possible, another bridge should be built across the Wei River to truly solve Chang'an's transportation problems and make things more convenient for the people.

However, such a bridge, which is more than 500 meters long, is not easy to build. In the Tang Dynasty, materials were prepared several years in advance, and people from three counties were conscripted. Taking advantage of the Wei River's dry season in winter, the East Wei Bridge, which integrates multiple functions such as military, economic, political and people's livelihood, was built.

Zhou Yi found some ancient bridge-building information online, printed it out, and planned to have Gongsun Da Niang give it to the craftsmen of the Tang Dynasty to see if it could be of any use.

Just as I finished printing, I saw Xi Shi pushing her bicycle in.

The Book of Changes asks:

How's the gasoline stove working?

Xi Shi propped her bicycle up under the peach tree and, while setting up her single tent, said:
"It works very well. I no longer need to gather firewood. I have now entered the territory of Wu. Does the Immortal Master have any instructions?"

"Be careful. If Fuchai tries to keep you here, just do it. Don't be polite to him."

Although he knew that this beautiful woman was only outwardly gentle, Zhou Yi still wanted to say a few more words, fearing that she might suffer a loss.

Xi Shi nodded:
"Thank you for your concern, Immortal Master. I will take good care of myself."

At this moment, Granny Gongsun returned from the Sanqing Hall carrying a bunch of snacks. Upon seeing Xi Shi, she quickly stuffed the snacks into her hands:
"Sister Xi Shi, why are you all dirty? Did someone bully you?"

Zhouyi: "..."

Well, yet another one has been fooled by the little white rabbit.

At noon, everyone enjoyed the delicious food, including braised ribbonfish, spicy hot pot, boneless ribbonfish, and dry pot pig's trotters. Zhao Xu, who arrived last, ate three large bowls of rice and also gave a briefing on the progress of the Northern Song Dynasty world.

"Ever since the Osmanthus Fairy started playing anti-Japanese war films and television dramas at home, the memorials from the court officials have changed significantly. In the past, most of them opposed sending troops, but now they are actively requesting to send troops to recover the territory of China."

Chen Tang commented:
"It sounds even more effective than taking calcium supplements. Your Great Song Dynasty needs more warmongers."

The memorials from the court officials were quite interesting. No matter what they said in the middle, they would all eventually circle back to crossing the sea to destroy Japan. This shows how much influence TV dramas had on these people.

Zhou Yi was pleased that he hadn't downloaded TV dramas like "Loyalty to the Country" for Li Qingzhao; otherwise, the Song Dynasty court would probably be in chaos by now.

After the meal, Zhao Xu took two boxes of potato sprouts, two boxes of plastic water cups, and a box of shiny plastic ornaments, and led his horse back home.

Potatoes would be secretly planted in the Qionglin Garden outside the city, while plastic water cups would be distributed as rewards to high-ranking officers, thus elevating their status.

As for the civil officials, we will hold off on issuing any orders for now, to curb their arrogance.

Chen Tang packed up the remaining dishes and gave them to Gan Yanshou to take away, along with two boxes of water bottles... After crossing the Yellow River, the desert was just ahead, so large-capacity water bottles were essential.

Of course, he also had many 25-liter water jugs suitable for carrying on horseback, and he never had to worry about water along the way from the Western Regions to Xiliang.

The potato sprouts needed to be planted quickly, so Aunt Gongsun didn't stay long and she and Li Bai each carried several boxes back home.

Some potatoes need to be planted in the courtyard of Yiyuan Temple, some in the back garden of the Gongsun family, and the imperial palace also needs to be planted. As long as they bear fruit, potato planting will gradually be promoted in Guanzhong starting next year.

Back in the Kaiyuan world, before Li Bai could even put the crispy cones he'd brought back back in the refrigerator, Princess Taiping handed him a letter:

"Someone delivered it before lunch, saying it was at Yuan Danqiu's request."

Li Bai tore open the envelope, unfolded the letter, and read it carefully. A look of surprise appeared on his face:

"No way? Master Ziyang is going to accompany Sima Chengzhen to Yiyuan Temple to offer incense... My master from history is actually coming?"

(End of this chapter)